12 replies to this topic

[Malzel]

When choosing a light mech to pilot, are there any real reasons to choose a Commando or a Raven over a Jenner? I'm debating on which mech I want to claim as my own, and I've piloted the Commando and Raven extensively. Neither of them are as fast as a Jenner, though, and it feels like none of them can really match the firepower of a Jenner with 4-6 lasers +/- SSRMs. Plus, the Jenner always has jumpjets, which only the Raven 4X can boast.

I know that the Commando has the best arm traversal of the three, which makes circle strafing a little easier, and the Raven 3L comes with all of that fancy electronics gear that you can't get any other way at the moment, but do either of these things actually make those mechs good choices?

This is not a rant about Jenners, but it does seem to me that they're the obvious "best" of the light mechs, with a lot of advantages and no real disadvantages when compared to the others. Personally, I like the Ravens, but not enough to handicap myself if it can't compete with the Jenner jockeys.

Hoping someone can either enlighten me about how the other lights pull their weight, or confirm that Jenners are, for better or for worse, the king of lights.

[Elizander]

Other than the profile or hardpoints, I would have to say that you are safe with the Jenner. A Jenner with an XL engine, DHS, Endo Steel, 4 lasers and 2 SSRM2s is gonna be a huge headache for anyone to deal with.

If you want to have a Gauss Rifle or LRM 20 (???) on your light mech, then the Raven will help you there. If you are a SSRM2 fanatic, the Commando will give you 3. Other than those, I can't really say picking the Raven or Commando over the Jenner will be a better choice right now. It might change later if PGI gives the 'lesser' light mechs minor tweaks like faster acceleration, wider twist range, and so on.

[Gaeb]

Jenner.

[Corvus Antaka]

if you like hunting jenners...take a commando

[Doomaflatchi]

As it stands right now, the Jenner is superior in *most* situations. Here's where the others work well:

• Light Mech Hunting: The Commando is really the best at this, but only in the hands of a skilled pilot. 3x Streak2's are a pain for even the fastest Jenner, and its profile makes it the hardest of the three lights to hit in circle-strafing light-on-light combat.
  
• Ballistics: If you're a fan of ballistic weapons at all on a light, the Raven is the only one that can carry them. Whether it's Gauss, LBX10, or AC/2, the Raven is your light platform for these guns, and they all have their uses.
  
• Information Warfare (future): Once the equipment for it actually gets implemented, the Raven will excel at a scout-recon ware in the Information Warfare system (and that's what the Mech was originally designed for in Battletech, anyway). Be sure to keep an eye on the 3L as ECM and BAP get implemented.
  
• Skirmish Brawling: While the Cicada isn't technically a Light Mech, it plays like one in a lot of ways. If you want to engage in Light-on-Medium style skirmish brawling but still be able to tangle with Heavies and the occasional Assault, the Cicada does this best. It's often a bit wasted against other Lights, however.

Other than these roles, the Jenner tends (my persona opinion) to excel over the other light options. I hope this helps you make the best choice you can, and have fun in whatever you drive!

[Malzel]

Thanks, that about confirms my suspicions. I'll probably roll a Raven as my personal favorite, but keep a Jenner around for when I need to vent and feel superior.

Agreed on the Cicada point, though. Any time I end up spectating a Cicada with 6 medium lasers and a large engine, I'm almost always impressed with the results.

[Shalune]

Looks like I'm a bit late here but wanted to add a few points.

- Raven has -much- better torso divisions than the jenner which has a very prominent CT. With a standard engine, and XL with proper twisting this gives the raven better survivability on armor alone (jenner has the huge advantage of jumps though.)

- My friend noticed that for all the cicada love out there, it provides little advantage over the jenner. Take one of the all energy variants and see if you can really fit more on it than the jenner. Surprised? Well as my friend noted, the larger engine needed to go the same speed takes up most or all of the 5 ton advantage. The larger engine may mean faster torso twisting though, unsure on this.

- This is entirely anecdotal, but when I've been playing my raven I take very few hits in the rear torso while on the move, even facing directly away from the attacker. I haven't tested this from the other perspective, but I get the sense we have very small rear torso sections.

In short the jenner is probably the best all around right now, but not by nearly as much, or in as many ways as people think.

[Mylar]

You have to also think about leveling.
With jenners you are running three of the same mech pretty much.
JR7-F: 6 energy, all in the arms.
JR7-D: 4 energy in the arms, 2 missile. But the two missiles are in the center torso so you are restricted to smaller racks if you run two. If you want to run a SRM6 or a LRM10 you may as well be driving...
JR7-K: 4 energy in the arms, 1 missile, still in the CT. largest LRM rack you can run is a LRM10.

To get elite you end you end up with three very similar hardpoint layouts.


The four commando varients give you more interesting choices for their missile slots and more aim with their energy slots. Between the four you could have three very different mechs to level to elite in.

The ravens are even more drastically different. Each of the three may as well be it's own chassis. All of thier weapons are side torso and arm mounted so you have a wide range of choices, you can take the biggest class of whatever you

The 4x with jump jets and ballistics can hop up onto sniping points a CAT-K2 could only dream of.
The 3L with it's higher engine rating can keep up with the other lights with a nice balance of energy and missile hardpoints.
The 2X can energy boat with his heavier beams/ppcs in the more stable and protected side torso.

If they restrict electronic warefare modules like AMS slots the 3L will become even more distinct.

I'm leveling ravens at the moment. But I do still love my little commando with his ninja SRM spam.

[Malzel]

That's an interesting take, as I'd expected the Jenner's similar hardpoints to be part of its popularity. Figured that once you built a Jenner you liked, you could pretty much level all three variants with the same general loadout, so you didn't have to "re-learn" a playstyle every time you switched to a new one.

Personally, I like variety, and so Ravens are also what I'm working on at the moment. Because you bring it up, though, I'm not very impressed with the 4X. I love jumpjets, but I couldn't ever figure out how to put anything but an AC 2 into the ballistic hardpoints without making some major sacrifices, and I was only using Streaks and medium lasers in the rest.

[Blackfang]

I run a commando 1D with 2 small pulse lasers, 2 SSRMs and an XL185 engine (endo steel internal structure) and I find it makes a very effective light mech hunter killer. Speed to semi keep up with the jenner and raven, but easy enough to get behind them and let rip with the streaks and wash over them with the lasers. Once the enemy lights are down it's easy to run rings around the heavier mechs on the field, but keep your back well protected, if i die generally it's because my back as been blown to bits. Raven is second my choice light mech, particularly the 3L, just lying in wait for the ECM and BAP to be fully implemented to do some stealth tagging for our fire support. Both configs are best used in a coordinated team however, need to be able to communicate effectively with your primary force, or support mechs with regards to the raven.

[Mylar]

Malzel, on 14 November 2012 - 02:40 AM, said:

Because you bring it up, though, I'm not very impressed with the 4X. I love jumpjets, but I couldn't ever figure out how to put anything but an AC 2 into the ballistic hardpoints without making some major sacrifices, and I was only using Streaks and medium lasers in the rest.

I know it's scary, but downgrade the engine.
Then put in a gauss rifle.
I went for a while with the stock engine from a commando, a 150 I think... gave me 69kph and 5 tons of armor on my gauss sniper raven.
Now I use a 145XL I think. Look at the XL engines and watch the tonnage break points, there is a crazy one where you have a decent engine for like 2.5 tons... It gets me 67kph, much better armor coverage and an option between AMS/Medium pulse laser/ more gauss ammo.

Stay with an Atlas or a Cat when dealing with early positioning, you are similar speed and can watch each other's backs for lights.

Use those jump jets. If you get good at it you can jump-snipe from behind cover. but even more important the jump jets make up for the terrible turning speed from your tiny engine.

AIM.

It's not how much damage you turn out, it's where you PUT the damage.
Leave stripping armor and posting 1000+ damage numbers to the missile boats.
Be happy with your 150-300 damage and 4 kills/4 assists.


Also fun is the dual AC/2 RAV-4X... but you can't get by with as much of an engine downgrade on that one. Too many heatsinks needed to support the AC/2 spam and that little 145XL only hides five of them.

Edited by Mylar, 14 November 2012 - 09:54 AM.

[CannonFodder86]

i'f you're willing to suffer Atlas like speeds the Commando can pack twin PPC(cept the 1B) or LRM20s(2D, 3A). just grab an XL100 engine, endo-steel, and run less armor.

[LordRush]

It really depends on what you are wanting to do. A Jenner is not a true scout mech,unless you are talking the F variant in which the hardpoints "could" allow you to add TAG. Which, tbh, I am not sold on.
Of course, if your talking about being a scout. Then, yes...I would fully agree, Raven ftw, not a Jenner
If your talking about being a harasser then a jenner all the way, your speed is your friend. I run 149.4 kph with a XL 300 and 4 meds w/ DHS & AMS and all variants unlocked to Master. I will stand at your backside and maneuver around you with precision. I will hit your base. I will make your entire team focus on me and move with me,and then? Im gone.

Again man..it is all about what you want to do

Edited by LordRush, 14 November 2012 - 12:32 PM.